And now, back to hot flash, that is all

 It is currently 84 but topped out at about 88 today. We haven't turned on the ac because we closed up early and with the sun at a lower angle it isn't hitting the front door straight on. So.... welcome to So Cal Fall.

The tree is gradually changing, top to bottom with other trees barely showing color. Such is the way of that species. I've seen three of them all in a row and they never turned color at the same time.

I almost fried the seedlings. Forgot how hot it was getting today and when I remembered they were wilted. Put them next to the sink and they will recover. This photo is from when I shifted the new lettuce seed pods to the same container. What is really funny is that one on the far right had been chewed by cat, down to the soil, it's still trying to grow. 

In this picture the lower left one is the chewed plant but I planted some romaine seeds in it anyway. I used a toothpick to push the seeds into the soil so they stayed moist. 

I picked more of the single pink rose hips this morning, looked up how they needed to be treated. Supposed to put them in the fridge for like six weeks (um not here, we don't get cold for that long) then you're supposed to soak them, then pry the seeds out and clean them off then clean them with bleach and water....  So, I just cut one open with my handy dandy tiny pocket knife and four perfect seeds were inside. I understand about why they need to be soaked and then bleached, imitating if an animal ate it and pooped it out. But honestly, I have enough hips I can try different methods and see what works. It's a fun experiment. That is the smallest of the three I picked just in case. Good amount of fruit around the four seeds but have no idea if that's good or not. Will let the other two hips just hang out and there's still five or six in another container in the front room. 

That's all for today. Onions are still growing, I went out yesterday evening and saw Dolores there. It was getting kind of dark so I only checked soil to make sure nothing had dug in them. Told her I had some lettuce and cauliflower started (who knew cauliflower was so easy to grow?). Wanted to get out and water today but oh well, too warm, will try again tomorrow.

 

Weather and watering

 The weather is very pleasant now. With the time change the clock says we're waking up around 6:30 but it's our usual 7:30. It has been extremely foggy and cold in the mornings until around 11, that makes for very mild temperatures and a lowering of electric bill not running the AC 24/7. 

Fog is so low the buildings are almost enveloped. Off to the left is the small hill about five blocks away and totally shrouded. There are supposed to be more hills behind that palm tree in the distance so yeah, definitely Fall weather.                                                                                                                                                                       

 

And right on schedule, Bird of Paradise are blooming with bees taking advantage of the nectar.  The liquidambar tree is changing colors more every day as well.

 

 

This picture was taken around 11 am and the foggy one was about 8:30. Love the streaky clouds that burned up rather quickly an hour or so later.

Definitely a LOT of cilantro coming up in the south bed. I know I tossed a good handful of seeds in there in late spring so good to see they're coming up and growing best they can in mostly shade. I don't know what people are doing when they say they have no luck with growing it. Then I ask when were they planting and inevitably they say late spring or early summer. Yup, there's your problem, toss the seeds in the soil mid to late summer and as late as Fall, early spring and boom, Cilantro.

 

Watering was done...ugh. It's such a chore pulling out the hose, hooking it up and then draining it and putting it back in but that's what I have to do. I completely flooded the west bed for the onions and possible cilantro in there. The oregano needed a good soaking as well. Going to plant out some more onion cuttings and maybe some garlic cloves as well. After I put them in the fridge for a while as I learned. You can also see the plethora of fall leaves which I will not remove from that bed as it's okay for composting.

 

Thoroughly watered the raised bed again and tried to move some of the soil around but still higher on the right than the left and back to front. Just means the water will drain to that side, which may or may not be good, so when I get more soil I'll try and level it out.  That reminds me I  need to start some romaine and mixed lettuce seeds as well. Cut up the potatoes into pieces and get them dried out and ready to plant. And onion seeds started.

Things to do for sure! 

 

 

 

Some things happening and not

 The weather has cooled again, more early morning fog and marine layer which lingers long enough to keep things a pleasant temperature during the day. 

Wonderful golden light on the tree in late afternoon. That's one of the sycamores and the leaves mostly turn brown and maybe a bit of yellow but the lighting made it glow.

And the half moon on Halloween, I had to zoom really close to like 10x to get it to show up of course but it was nice to actually see it.

Now then, as for the garden happenings, seedlings coming up and a leezard sighting!

The photo on the left is from day before yesterday and today a third seedling has popped up in the same group plus another one so four total cauliflower coming up. Seems leaving them in the hot oven like window one day so they almost dried out didn't do any harm.

 I decided to try and dig the area where I wanted to put the crate and no sooner did I use my trowel (thankfully) along the long side toward the middle, this little guy came skittering out. The soil was warm so I suspect it was just using it to sleep for the night. Gorgeous turquoise markings on the back. I tried to pick it up but of course, it was completely aware of what was going on and zipped off to leap under the jade bush. A common male Coast Range Fence Lizard (according to google image) but have never seen one with the blue spots on the back. 

Anyway, turns out there's not enough depth for putting the crate in the bed. I dug down as far as I could and hit the logs. Another inch of soil was not going to make any difference so I filled in the hole again and figure I'll just put it on top or maybe where it has been and fill it with soil to plant the potatoes. I had intentions of watering when I went out there at the time then instead, picked up my trowel and shovel. 

And finally, the butchering happened. I heard the trimmer running the other day and knew it would be chopped down. Really need to talk to the manager about letting that at least just grow into a bush as it would help keep the building a little cooler.

So now that the cauliflower have come up I need to really get going on the potatoes. I have four or five spuds in different colors and only room for three PIECES in that crate. Would rather grow them in a container as it's easier to harvest and not lose any to crop up suddenly a few months later. Oh I also figured out that a good portion of all the root masses toward the bottom of the raised bed are from the logs I put down there. I unearthed a small log about the length of my forearm and chucked it under the jade bush. Also pulled a pencil thick root as much as I could but had to cut it with my little paring knife because it wasn't budging. Hazards of using natural methods for filling the bottom of a bed, might get out next week and buy that second bag of soil so I can top off the bed.

Hope to water tomorrow and hope that lizard didn't decide to return to the raised bed and make it his home.  

The heat is on....

 Yesterday it got up to 89 midday and today it got that high before noon, so needless to say we are closed up and enjoying chill temperatures inside. We could have waited a bit longer, the kitchen thermometer only was at 74 when it was 84 outside. But best to get ahead of the curve before you have to cool down to comfortable. it is 1:40 pm and 97 outside, 76 in the kitchen.

 

 I had cut off and saved some some green onions about a week ago and they were now sprouted enough on top to put them out. Right before it was going to get blasting heat. I laid them in a trench in the west bed and then used the half gallon jug to water them. The raised bed was still perfectly damp yesterday evening so wasn't going to drag out the hose just for one small line of onions. Yes that bed needed more compost but whatever, I fertilized it with pellets a while back and the soil is actually pretty good for onions.  With this heat spike, I'm pulling the peat pots of seeds out of the window during the day because that window in the afternoon can get brutal. When the temps dip down again or if it gets cloudy they'll go back in to warm up during the day.

 

Measuring tape not needed. Emptied out the crate and used a stick to trace around it. You can see that the soil is still perfectly dark and moist. Plenty of room around it for planting other things but as far as potatoes in that crate, it's actually rather small for the number of potatoes I want to put in there. If the cauliflower comes up in time and grows well at least three will go in that empty space, maybe radishes or onions in the front. Maybe a couple of pea plants on the trellis, literally, there's only room for two plants, one if it's very ambitious and healthy. 

Nothing can go in that bed until I get the crate in place and before that happens have to cut up the potatoes and let them dry a bit before planting them. I think I can get six spuds maybe seven in that crate. It's also not that deep so putting a layer of soil in the bottom only about an inch thick may not be an option. I'd say half full with soil then place potatoes and then cover lightly and mound as they grow. 

As per the AI guide:

 "Cut seed potatoes into chunks with at least one or two eyes each. Allow them to dry for a day or two to prevent rotting. Plant them at least 5–6″ inches deep and space them about 12 inches apart in rows." 

I can do 5-6" easily and at 12" apart.... that's maybe two but I will try for 3. Honestly if they grow well and set at least a handful on each plant that's more than enough for two people.

 

Hard to see but there are 'millions' of teeny tiny seedlings coming up (guaranteed weeds) but those larger leaf plants may well be cilantro. Believe it or not I may well leave all the little greens in there just for a 'cover crop' and add in a few other cilantro for staggered harvest. That south bed is semi-useless in from Fall to Summer with the amount of shade it gets. 

 

That's just the quick update for now,  a bit of prep and still holding pattern for fall planting.

 

 

First round of seeds and watering

But first, it is still mostly fall weather. Cool, almost chilly nights and very pleasant sunny days with a cool breeze. It will all be erased in a few days when the temps will jump up in a hot flash moment to the 90's. 

That was taken last night/evening but you can see later in the week it's supposed to jump up to 92. It's only in the upper 70's right now during the day so still very pleasant. 

First round of cauliflower seeds planted. I didn't think I got a seed in the one on the right so it was in there overnight and then I decided to just squeeze it into the other container. Those clear plastic containers are from one of my sets from Ikea, 'tower of containers' set that I have two.  They make great humidity/catch trays since I am not taking lunches or snacks to work anymore. The black one is a mushroom container from the store that I have discovered are not heat tolerant at all. Two have turned into folded and twisted objects just leaving them out in the garden in what I thought was a shaded spot.So, seedling tray yes, sun exposure, no.

I double checked to make sure rose hips should be harvested when they turn color and the answer was yes so I yoinked about five of them before the gardeners decided to cut them off. I might grab those three as well just to make sure. this is the medium pink single petaled rose in front of the giant BoP that gets maybe half day sun in the summer and hardly any in winter. I watered all the beds and noticed a lot of seedlings coming up in the south bed. I know I only tossed a handful of cilantro in there so my suspicion is most of that is weed seeds. Will let them grow and see what happens.

Verification of height on the crate idea. That little white rack is about the same level as the bottom of the planting area. It seems there will be about two inches of crate above the edge of the bed. Can't put soil in any higher than that handle cut out anyway so that is acceptable. It is also perfect length for putting in it's current orientation that will allow maximum sun and yet keep the rest of the bed in sun as well.  Yes it will shade in the afternoon but 5 or 6 hours of sun is just fine for growing. There will be a lot of shoveling going on when I decide to do that but I think it will be worth the effort. What gardening isn't worth the work right?

 

Even after watering thoroughly (and I do mean thoroughly) the soil level didn't sink that much.  I still want another bag of soil just in case and if there's left overs it'll be distributed in the ground beds. I mistakenly just walked right out to the garden without changing shoes but no harm done to my suede slip ons, got a little wet but that's all. Need to look into getting a more 'all weather' pair of shoes because my canvas ones have no tread left and are not water proof.

Trying to think of anything else I could use and the only thing that comes to mind is a good pair of garden gloves. I miss my Foxgloves, sure they're fabric but they were made out of bamboo and nylon, dried ultra fast and completely washable. When I originally bough them about fifteen years ago, they were $25 for the ones with the grips on the palm. On Amazon, they are now $32, of course everything is more expensive now. The cuff length was perfect the nubs were just enough, I wore mine out many times using them every day or losing them on a monthly basis. 

And Fall means leaves on the ground and fungus in the grass. 

 

I am very stoked about the garden

 I was able to get the bag out of the car and into the raised bed today. I am so excited! First time there has been soil almost to the top in a couple of years. 

Before. Soil down to the second ridge and has been that way for two years at least. I cleaned out a lot of my old photos so not much in the way of reference shots.

After. One 2 cf bag of the Kellog's Raised Bed mix. I leveled it out a bit more and technically, should have done a little at a time to mix in the existing soil, oh well. I mixed as much as I could and if I get a second bag that will go in the ground beds. I'm so stinking happy about having this much soil after so long.  Since I might be setting in that crate I may not need more soil in that bed at least. It's not going to displace that much but want to hold off until that gets done. I'll be setting the crate on the surface and see how much room it takes up. Given the awkwardness of the space I will probably set it long ways parallel to the trellis and maybe plant peas in the crate after I put the potatoes in. Hoping the soil is deep enough I can make it level with the surrounding soil or at least at level with the top of the bed walls. It's dark now otherwise I'd go down and take some measurements. 

I keep thinking mentally the crate is going to sit on top of the soil and worry about sun angle then have to stop myself. It's not going to be that tall, but I can tell jsut from the photo it's definitely going to be taller than the walls of the bed. I have logs at the bottom and the crate on the ground is about four inches shorter than the bed. So yeah, level with the top is not going to happen but it'll still work. Keeping it on that side and to the back will work out best for sun exposure. The jade bush will be shading that side of the bed all winter and you can see how there is shade on that angle in the evening (went out around 5pm). If it's going to sit above the edge then I will need extra soil to fill the top of the crate. Second bag will be needed.

And that's my excitement for today! Second bag will be purchased sometime next week before the heat spike and hope to get more seeds as well.

Yay for new dirt! 

Soil purchased...sort of.

 So as I said, I have enough on my gift card to get a bag of soil. First mistake, didn't make sure I had the barcode loaded before we got there. 

I could not find the email that I could have sworn I had kept in my mail page so it would be right there. Well apparently I decided to just clear the page out of reflex the other day and it wasn't there. Standing around, getting frustrated, two associates tried to help me and then said to go to customer service and see what they can do.  Even the very patient and very knowledgable young man could not find it and it wouldn't come up on my account on the website.  He was very kind and (knowing this was part of policy) just took $11 off our total (bought a 12 pack of coke as well since it was cheaper than the store) and so essentially got the soil for free.

Now then, back at home I got on the computer hoping it would somehow magically be right there. Nope... you see... when I send mail to the trash... it's another page of emails.. I had to scroll down and page after page until I got to the beginning of the month and there it was. I even emailed my brother telling him about my problem but since it was not his direct email there was no way he could resend it. So anyway, found it with the barcode and pin, saved it as a pdf and printed it out. Damn straight. (it is currently 9 pm and I forgot to take it out of the car, lovely smell in the morning).

Now, this means I will be able to go back to HD with my printed card, grab another bag of soil and now will have 2 bags that will fill up my raised bed! Whooo! Do I feel like I'm cheating? Sort of, but a lot less cheating than people who purposely cut holes in bags and then have them discount it down because it's a 'broken bag'. This was a total fubar on my part that was not on purpose to cheat the system. They are allowed to mark down merchandise to about $20 at their discretion so I'm going to get a second bag and be done with it. I was also going to try and get some carrot seeds but there was an older disabled man and his wife looking right where the carrots were and I was not in a mood to deal with them. Will try the library next week.

It's starting to change. Poor thing is looking more and more ragged lately due to the ravages of caterpillars, age and parrots. Also leaves are dropping but not that drastically. Leaves are blowing into the garden beds for sure though, got rather blustery the other day and weather says we may have Santa Ana's again and temps jumping back up to 90 next week. Oh yay. Mother Nature is having a hot flash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rocky spied a lizard. Picture on the left is from March and the one on the right is from today. Almost can't see it, but it's toward the back, head down and apparently he didn't seem interested in actually trying to get it. I think the bougainvillea thorns might have poked him last time. That 'bush' by the way is totally being ravaged by loopers, but if the gardener comes through again it'll all be cut down. Like the lantana is downstairs. Seriously, that lady completely chops all the green growth off the lantana every year. It's horrific. Yes it grows back but it doesn't need to be hacked back like that! She's so very proud of herself cleaning up the spider plants and raking the soil and all that. God bless her but honestly.

So no photos of the garden because it's just dirt right now but soon, very soon will be planting again.